Do they just disappear when you leave?

Do they just disappear when you leave?

[Cal]

Who are "they?" "Leave" from where?

[UntoHim]

I think this might be "Mary" from London UK who posted recently on "Any ex members from London" thread.

I took this to be referring to ex Local Church members, and what becomes of them when they leave the LC. Could be a language issue. Maybe she could straighten this out/clarify when she gets a chance.
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[HERn]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Do they just disappear when you leave?

For me yes, once you leave you are posioned, leprous, diseased, of the devil. So yeah, they disappear. Wouldn't you if you believed that?

[UntoHim]

"Mary" from London UK contacted me and gave me this revised version of her original post:

"I guess my question was do the current Local Church members just forget about you, and you can carry on with your life?"
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[JJ]

There is no single answer to this question because the response will vary depending on your connections with local church “saints” before and after you leave, and geography (i.e are you in a different area afterward or the same and still see them). If you have family and/or friends still there, or still see you around they won’t forget you, but relations are often strained quite a bit for a while especially if you argue with them. Others generally leave you alone if you don’t see them around or socialize by some means (including social media) but wonder what happened, and may pray for your return.

Thinking you will be left alone may be wishful thinking, because many do care for you, and have layers of endoctrination to discourage exiting.

[aron]

Originally Posted by JJ

Thinking you will be left alone may be wishful thinking, because many do care for you, and have layers of endoctrination to discourage exiting.

As JJ says it is multi-faceted. Some localities are aggressive in tracking and management of group members, some are laissez-faire. Depends also if you have close family members in. If you are single without extended family it is much easier.

Many choose to physically relocate, start afresh. I did.

But JJ's last point is crucial: you have layers of indoctrination to shed. Of course that depends on how much you were "in". Many of us were in group housing and it was 24/7, for years. If I could do it over again, I'd be much more conscious, deliberate, and forceful in removing the LC programming from my thinking.

Have you read the Jo Casteel page on Facebook? They had links to resources for those leaving. Some of them put up a website for ex-members. There are tools out there, to escape high-control religious groups. You are not alone.

[OBW]

The answer is somewhat "yes." At least in my case. After a few weeks, on person did call me, but that was it.

If I ever ran into any of them (which was seldom despite living less than 1 mile from the Irving meeting hall when they still did a lot of publishing and the winter trainings there), they just said "hi" or seemed to not really see me/us. Sometimes they would say typically LC kinds of greetings, but that was not common.

I did have to deal with some of them back in Dallas where my mom, dad, and sister lived (still in the church at that time — only my sister remains in now, and my brother is in Arlington TX). I tried to maintain peace there and with the family, but it was sometimes difficult to impossible.